Talk:Sheepshank

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Is the sheepshank really a bend? It doesn't attach to another rope, which is what seems to characterize "bends." But if not, what is it? PenguiN42 20:14, Jan 26, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] 2 types of Sheepshank?

Is the Sheepshank both with both loops on same side (Line x-crosses in-between the hitches) and both loops on opposite sides?

It does not look like (after tying both ways) 2 ways of tying the same knot but rather 2 different knots with one name (I have found 2 ways of tying it [1] and one way of tying the other knot [2]). I just tied both of them. I noticed the one with both hitches on the same side was on a sailors knot sight and the one with hitches on opposite sides is a Boy Scout knot. I sail and I remember (But I can’t go back to double check) that I saw the one with both loops on the same side in a book and a poster of sailing knots. --E-Bod 19:02, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

You are correct, and the article is wrong (as is the source; I checked, and know that it's incorrect); the two different "Sheepshanks" are two different knots. However, for the life of me, I can't remember the name of the false Sheepshank; I learned it as a Boy Scout >25 years ago (back then, they were both seperately named in the Boy Scout Handbook) and can still TIE almost any knot (and every one the BSA required) but some of the names have, alas, left me. That's actually what brought me to the article; I was hoping to find the name of the false Sheepshank (the one that is tied with three loops). One of the proofs is that the false sheepshank can only shorten a rope by approximately 2 arm lengths; a true sheep shank can be tied flat (not under load, lying on a deck) to an arbitrary shortening, as long as a slight load is placed on it after the completion of the knot as you initially place it under load. Bill Ward 17:45, 14 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Controversy

[3] seems to be against the use of this knot maybe we could mention it in the article. Although I haven't seen another sight yet against the use of this knot, however I haven't met anybody who has herd of this knot (Although I have seen it in a book one and on a poster another time)

[4] calls the knot Temporary and suggests adding another half hitch to each end to make it more permanent. --E-Bod 19:02, 15 August 2006 (UTC)